Body found off coast of La Jolla identified as missing 27-year-old who fell off Crystal Pier

LA JOLLA (KUSI) — A dead man found floating in the ocean off the coast of La Jolla over the weekend has been identified as a musician who fell from Crystal Pier three weeks ago and disappeared in the surf, authorities reported.

A fisherman in a boat came across the body of 27-year-old Taylor “Tay” Watts several miles from shore about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office.

At about 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 21, Watts was with friends on the pier at the foot of Garnet Avenue when he climbed over a railing, grabbed a nylon rope attached to the structure and leaned back over the water, the county agency reported. Apparently losing his grip moments later, he plunged backward into the sea, possibly hitting his head on part of the pier on the way down, witnesses said.

Lifeguard divers and U.S. Coast Guard personnel conducted an intensive search for the singer-songwriter — a Texas native — in the ocean and along the shoreline for several days, finding no sign of him.